Cragorus and the Female Hoofar
March 5th, 2006 by Salem
Chapter 31 - The TidusBlade leaves the open sea and enters the largest river on Colloquy to reach the Gaza shipping port in the country now called Isis. On the sea deck, watching the bank of the river roll past are the twins, Captain Koror and the other Blade Masters. “We have to go to the Hoofar’s Palace and ask the current Hoofar for permission to pass through the country to reach the border of Cragorus,” explained Selene. “So is this country still called Ted?” asked Salem. “No, actually there is a female Hoofar. They have renamed their country, Isis,” said James. So the new Hoofar is Hoofar Isis?” asked Selene. “Well that is much better name then Hoofar Ted,” said Salem. “Mal,” called Selene, “Get the MobilBlade ready to leave for Cragorus. If this female Hoofar is anything like her father, we should get permission very quickly.” “And what if I want to stay here on the TidusBlade?” asked Jarody. “We already apologized for accusing you of hurting Christina,” said Selene. “What more do you want?” asked Salem. “I want to stay here on the TidusBlade,” said Jarody. Selene moves closer to Jarody, “But we need you with us to see!” “I know, to see the old crone. I’ll appear when I’m needed. If you two die, I lose my job. I remember how it is. I’ll be there,” said Jarody, “I just want to spend time with the good Captain, his lovely family, and my comfortable room.” “I think not,” said James, “You caused enough trouble on my ship, I won’t have you roaming the ship and pulling your pants down at random people.”
“And Raptor will not do anything unless you are with us,” said Selene. “Don’t worry about my horse, she’ll follow Vivien’s and Christina’s orders, and if I’m not welcome on this ship, then I’ll just go back home to my place in the swamp,” said Jarody. The twins looked at each other then to Captain Koror, “James, please let him stay. We need him and if this is the only way he will help!” “OK, you don’t have to beg on his account,” said James. “Oh, please let them beg. All women should beg to men for everything,” said Jarody.
It was agreed that the other Blade Masters would spread out to gather supplies for the long trip to the mountains of Cragorus while the twins and Christina, as representatives of the Sacred Temple of the Blades, asked Hoofar Isis for her permission. Captain Koror and Pixie Dust came along to see the Hoofar as well. James plans to ask the Hoofar for permission to give his crew shore leave while they are docked there. Pixie had business with the Hoofar in the name of the King of Lysts to test the just finished BoltBlade track in this country. “This will be very interesting,” said James. “How so?” asked Salem. “Well Hoofar means King in their language. There really is no word for queen,” said James. “How is this so? There has to be a word for queen,” said Christina. “What do they call the wife of the Hoofar?” asked Selene. “Wives, the Hoofar can gain as many wives as they please. That is why there is no word for queen, there isn’t just one and so it isn’t important enough.” “This is why Isis, daughter of Hoofar Ted, did not marry,” said Pixie, “She wanted to be Hoofar.” “If Isis married after her sixteenth birthday as she was supposed to, her husband would have been Hoofar,” said James. “And after that, Isis would have become just one of many and forgotten about,” guessed Selene. “But she refused to marry and in result she became the very first female Hoofar this country has ever had. “Wait a minute!” yelled Christina, “There are snake men everywhere as well as other beast men.” “Yes Christina, this is there country, beast men are the majority here,” said Selene.
The five Blade Masters arrive at the Hoofar Palace and find themselves in a long line to see Isis. “You think she holds court like King Abbot?” asked Christina. “Kings run their countries very differently,” said Selene. “I know that for a fact, I’ve been to them all,” said James. “Tell me,” said Christina, “From what country does the Ut army comes from.” James scoffed, “The United Trust army. MORE like the United TYRANTS’ army.” “Not long after the fall of Lord DarkRaptor and the disbandment of the RaptorClan, the ex-leaders, who DarkRaptor had overthrown, formed an army of fortune,” said Selene. “They have no country of their own, it is a traveling army of mercenaries and killers,” said James. “They only fight on the side that pays them the most money,” said Salem. “If your enemy hired the Ut army to invade your country and kill you, all you have to do is give them more money than your enemy did and they will turn around and kill the ones who hired them to begin with,” said Pixie. “If they are evil, why are they allowed to exist?” asked Christina. “Cause what they do is not against the law in any country. Leaders like King Abbot see them as a necessary evil,” said Selene. “Better to hire a bunch of killers to defend your country and possibly get killed, than to send your own countrymen to be killed,” said Salem.
The line moved along slowly into a building connected to the palace. Inside, the group saw that the building was made to hold more people in a cue until they can enter the palace itself. “Christina, the people here are of a different culture. It will be best that you stay quiet and hold in any outburst you might make,” said Selene. “Outburst? Why? What is different about them?” asked Christina. “First of all they do not believe that Gin should be worshiped as the creator of our world,” said Salem. “But he did create it,” said Christina. “These people believe that the people who created Gin’s Blade should be the ones we should worship and thank for the existence of our world,” said Salem. “But no one knows who the creators of Gin’s blade are,” said Christina. “A Long time ago, a Hoofar had a dream that he had met the creators of Gin’s Blade. That Hoofar made a painting of the creators and since then, these people have been worshiping them,” said Selene. “What do they look like?” asked Christina. “See the pictures of the animal headed people on the walls. Those are what they believe are the creators of Gin’s Blade,” said Salem. “Animal headed people?!” said Christina, “Are there any Blade Masters here?” “Well I can only guess the RayBalde was passed down to the new Hoofar,” said Selene. “The RayBlade?” asked Christina. “But in this culture, it is called the Sun Ray Scepter,” said Salem. “What does it do?” asked Christina. “It can fire a beam of pure light to a target that will burn until there is no more target,” said Selene.
The five Blade Masters were just six or seven people away from the actual palace entrance. “She is a popular person,” said Pixie. They finally get to the door and are greeted by large snake men in armor. “Are you here to present a gift or to be in the audience?” asked one of the snake men. “We are here to see the Hoofar,” said Selene. “Follow the red line up to your seats,” said another snake man. “No, you do not understand, we are here to talk to the Hoofar,” said Salem. “No talking to the Hoofar unless you brought a gift to present to her. Now you are holding up the line. Do you have a gift for the Hoofar or not?” said the first guard. “Yes, we have a gift for her,” said Salem. “That is better. From where do you come?” said a small goat man just behind the guards. They just noticed the goat man, he was so small, he could have been walking with them and they would not have noticed. “We are representatives of the Sacred Temple of the Blades with the Captain of the TidusBlade and a representative for King Abbot of Lysts,” said Selene. “And your gift?” asked the small goat man. Salem woke up Pawn and told him, “Sorry.” It was obvious that it was code for something because Pawn opened his ThievesBlade’s void. Out fell an object wrapped in some sort of shiny material. “What is that?” asked the small goat man. “I am sorry, it is only for the Hoofar to know,” said Selene. “Very well, go through the red curtain and wait to be called,” said the small goat man. The group walks to the old dusty curtain as James asks, “What is that?” “We are not sure, we got it from Jarody’s home, but the stuff inside tastes great,” said Salem.
The five Blade Masters pass through the curtain only to join another line. “How did I know this would happen?” said Salem. “Does anyone else have a problem with the fact that Salem just pulled that thing from the mouth of a small animal?” asked Pixie. “It was in an alternate plane of existence, not in Pawn’s mouth,” said Salem. “I have an alternate plane of existence in my mouth. Food goes in but something else comes out,” said Pixie. Three more people joined the line with a long necked white bird in a cage squawking its head off. Not long after, the group begins to hear what sounds like a large male’s voice announcing people. A few times a large crowd, that could be the audience, could be heard cheering from time to time, but the Hoofar who is supposedly here was not heard. The line moved slowly and the large man’s voice got even louder until they reached a door where two more beast men guards stood. The guards would let a small group of people through the door and stop the next group until it was their turn. From here, a woman’s voice could be heard. “Weth presenty is guft to voo, vrum es peeples av Cardeliam!” said a nearby voice of what sounded like an elderly man. “What? An old animal skin? Do you nod angy or men to carin ob sea tasnif?” said the woman’s voice from farther away making it hard to understand her. “Weth onlity av is treansure vrum T Cardeliam chuch! Weth cann knot spear na moor strung mens,” said the nearby elderly voice. Then the crowd began to chant, “Fowl! Fowl! Fowl! Fowl!” “Quiet!” yelled the woman, “I will hear is Man out hand teal wanth am brivetly!” “What did she say?” asked Christina. “I could not make it out,” said Salem. “Nor could I, and I have great hearing,” said James. “The crowd began to boo and started to chant, “Hoofar Ted! Hoofar Ted! Hoofar Ted! Hoofar Ted!” “I think the people do not like their new Hoofar,” said Selene. “You are right, the people of this country are on the verge of a civil war over it,” said James, “I was hoping that the people would have gotten use to a female Hoofar by now.”
“You are next!” said one of the guards as he made to grab Salem’s arm to pull her through the door. Salem moved her arm out of the way in time and stepped through the door on her own. “Stand on the blue floor until you are called!” said the other guard holding a long spear. From here the group can see that they were in a very large circular room with thousands of beast men sitting in bleachers that went up to a dizzying height. “Tidus could fit in here with room to spare,” said James. In the middle was a blackened section of floor that was obviously a trap door. On the far end from where they stood was the Hoofar’s throne with three people sitting in chairs just behind it about two stories above the floor. “Is that Ted?” asked Salem. “He has not aged well,” said Selene as they talked about the very enfeebled white haired man who looked as if he were tired of keeping his head up. Red and yellow cloths hung everywhere in the large room giving the impression that these were the official colors of the country. The people in the stands continued to chant, “Hoofar Ted! Hoofar Ted!” “Where is the queen?” asked Christina. “It is Hoofar, and I think she went to talk with the people who were before us in a more private place,” said Selene. “Why is that trap door covered with that black stuff?” asked Christina. “Well, the black stuff is ash, when someone here to see the Hoofar displeases them, they are turned into ash by the Sun Ray Scepter then the ashes are dumped through the trap door,” said James.
A sheep man who almost looked to be a judge came walking out from a door next to the throne and stood at a podium that mixed into the architecture so well, it went unnoticed until now when the man walked up to it. The sheep man began to speak, “Beast men and women, humans and creatures, presenting the Hoofar of the proud country of Isis, daughter of Hoofar Ted!” “Hoofar Ted! Hoofar Ted! Hoofar Ted!” the crowd began to chant causing the announcer to raise his voice to be heard. “The first female Hoofar ever, HOOFAR ISIS!” finished the sheep man as a woman covered from head to foot with gold and long flowing red cloths walked out onto the stage like balcony with a silver and gold scepter topped with the clearest crystal ball anyone has ever seen. The woman was very beautiful and yet there was no mistaking that this was the country’s ruler. “Silence!” she commanded, and the audience of beast men quickly quieted down. “Next gift please!” ordered the female Hoofar. The small goat man from before walked up to a horn shaped shell and spoke into it. The shell amplified his voice beyond reason, making the small being sound like a man ten times his size. “From the country of Lysts, located at the other side of the Isis Ocean. Presenting Captain James T. Koror and company!” announced the small beast man. “And company?” said an angered Salem. The group moves forward to the dark spot in the middle of the large room. Selene stepped on to the middle of the room first and said, “Hoofar, I am Selene. and these are!” “Ma’am, you will present your gift first, then you will be allowed to speak,” said the sheep man. Salem came up next to Selene and whispered to her, “Forget how anal retentive they could be?” “You must have that info in your head my dear sister,” whispered Selene. Salem lifted the object in golden wrapping high for everyone to see. “A golden stature of an earless rabbit?” asked the sheep man. “Inside is a mysterious dark brownish substance that has a taste unlike anything else found in our world!” said Salem. The goat man took the gift from Salem and exited the room to return up on the high stage next to Isis. Isis took the gift and examined it until she found how to open the wrapping and sample the chocolate inside. “Mmmm. Delicious,” said Isis, “Do you have access to more?” “That is why this gift is the best gift of all,” said Selene, “That is the only one in Colloquy. You are now the only person to have this substance.” “To be in possession of the only one in existence, holds a value on not only the object, but the object holder as well,” said Isis.
Isis handed her new gift to the goat man who quickly left with it. “It shall go in my treasure vault,” said Isis, “You may now speak.” Selene turned and gestured for James to talk. “I am Captain of the TidusBlade. I”˜ve come only to ask for permission to grant my crew shore leave while we are docked here.” “How long will you be here?” asked Isis. “A few days, we are the only transportation the BoltBlade has. As soon as the testing is done and the BoltBlade is ready to return to Lysts, we will leave.” Isis turned to the sheep man and they whispered back and forth for a short while then Isis turned back to James, “Does this BoltBlade have an owner?” “I’m the pilot of the BoltBlade,” said Pixie as she jumped in front of James. “We’ve been expecting you and your machine,” said Isis. Salem stepped up, “I am Salem, this is my sister Selene and with us is another temple member, Christina.” “We are representatives of the Sacred Temple of the Blades,” said Selene. “Ah, I thought you looked familiar, the infamous ageless temple founders. What business do you have here? Your Gin holds no value here and you have no followers to see,” said Isis.
“We are only passing through your country to reach Cragorus. We are here to ask for your permission for us and seven other temple members to continue,” “Cragorus? What is this Cragorus you speak of?” asked Isis as the sheep man once again started to whisper something to her. Salem whispered to Selene and Christina, “They must have taken over the country.” “But why does she act as if she had not heard of the country before?” asked Christina. “That is another thing about this culture, when something changes like an added country or the change of the name of their country; they change everything and pretend it was always like that. They will deny that this country was once called Ted,” said Selene. The sheep man stands straight up as Isis looks at Salem and Selene again, “I see, you talk of the yet to be explored mountain regain of South Isis. I will grant you and your people passage in my country if you can answer a few questions for me,” said Isis. “We will answer any question within reason,” said Selene. “Why do people from and around the temple call your weapons Blades even if there is no blade on the weapon at all?” “Because all Blades came from the one Blade that created this world, and so they are called Blades as a reminder of that,” said Salem. “I can agree with that, however I will not start calling my scepter a Blade when it clearly is not a sword or anything else with a sharp edge. Next question, is it true when my father was in his youth, one of you seduced him to get him to grant you whatever you wanted?” Salem whispered to Selene, “I knew that Utat business would comeback to bite us some day.” “We were desperate and we did not have much time to prevent the incident from happening,” said Selene. “You broke my father’s heart. He waited for your return to be a wife. It caused him to never bed down with any other wife again,” said Isis, “I must thank you. If he had and if a son had resulted from it, I would not be here.” The twins could feel the tension release their chests. “I promise that this will be the last question,” said Isis as the twins slightly turned their heads to better hear her, “Why are you in my country?”